What is Small Circle Jujitsu™?

 Jujitsu (also commonly known as Jujutsu or Jiu-jitsu) was formalized and most popular during the Edo period of Japan. This was the era during which the Samurai caste dominated Japanese life and culture. Jujitsu was the samurai’s main set of combat techniques after the sword. There have been many styles (or ryu) of Jujitsu throughout the history of Japan, and during the 20th century many more styles were developed all around the world. To learn about where our modern system of Small Circle Jujitsu came from, we must look back first at Wally Jay's teacher, Henry S. Okazaki.

Professor Henry S Okazaki
January 29th, 1890 – July 12th, 1951 
​Founder of Danzan Ryu Jujitsu™

Professor Henry Seishiro Okazaki was a legendary martial artist, gifted healer, and the founder of Danzan Ryu Jujitsu. Born in Japan, he moved to Hawaii in 1906.

Growing up, Okazaki suffered from a number of health problems. As a result, he turned to martial arts as a way to improve his physical and mental health. He began studying jujitsu Kichimatsu Tanaka at the Shinyu Kai Dojo. Exercise, training, and fighting improved his health and attitude so much that it spurred him on to further his study of judo and jujitsu, as well as other fighting art disciplines. He studied under masters of the yoshin, kosagabe, and iwaga jujitsu systems, as well as studying Okinawan karate, Filipino knife fighting, lua (the Hawaiian art of self-defense), the art of throwing a Spanish dirk, boxing, wrestling, and even kung fu.

From 1927 to 1928, Okazaki developed an integrated martial arts system: Danzan Ryu Jujutsu. A synthesis of several older styles of jujutsu, Okazaki included in the system elements of his studies of Okinawan Karate, Chinese Kung-Fu, Hawaiian Lua, Escrima, boxing, wrestling, as well as traditional Japanese restorative massage and healing techniques.

Over the years, Okazaki continued to refine and develop the Danzan Ryu system, incorporating new techniques and principles. He also trained several notable students, many of whom went on to become great martial arts instructors themselves, including Wally Jay. Okazaki broke tradition by teaching non-Japanese, regardless of age, race, creed, sex, or handicap, believing that the knowledge he imparted transcended borders and belonged to everybody.

In 1939, Okazaki founded the American Jujitsu Guild, which he changed in 1943 to the American Jujitsu Institute (AJI). AJI continues to this day, where it perpetuates the teachings of Henry S. Okazaki and Kodenkan/Danzan Ryu Jujitsu.

Today, Danzan Ryu Jujitsu continues to be practiced by martial artists around the world, and is known for its practical, effective self-defense techniques and emphasis on healing and wellness. Okazaki's legacy continues to be celebrated by his students and followers, who view him as a pioneer of American martial arts and a master of Jujitsu.

​Professor Leon Jay 
April 26, 1955
Grandmaster of Small Circle Jujitsu

Professor Leon Jay was born in 1955 in California. He is the son of Wally and Bernice Jay. He began studying martial arts at the age of 2 under his father. As he grew up, he had the enormous advantage of not only learning from his father's teachings, but of also meeting many renowned martial artists.  As a child, he often came home from school at night to find Bruce Lee on the doorstep waiting for Professor Wally Jay, with whom Bruce was studying with at that time. Through his father, Professor Leon Jay also met other greats such as Ed Parker, creator of "American Kempo Karate", and Prof. Remy Presas, founder of Modern Arnis. Prof. Leon Jay's lifetime of study of the martial arts covers a broad spectrum, having studied Judo, Jujitsu (Kodenkan and Small Circle Jujitsu), Kyusho jitsu, Tuité Jitsu, Modern Arnis, and Kali. 

Currently, Professor Jay currently holds the following;

10th Dan (Grandmaster) in Small Circle Jujitsu
8th Dan Dillman Karate International
3rd Dan in Kodenkan Jujitsu
1st Dan in Judo
1st Dan in Tae-Kwon Do

Since 1990, Prof. Jay has lived in Surrey, England. Upon his arrival, he immediately began to share the knowledge, ideas, and techniques of Small Circle Jujitsu through schools in the towns of Leatherhead and Redhill (England), guest instructorships, and seminars. Professor Leon Jay has travelled around the world, teaching in Europe, America, Australia, and South America. He has worked tirelessly to spread Small Circle Jujitsu, always thinking of how to incorporate new and effective ideas that can improve the art, such as the incorporation of vital pressure points. 

In August of 2002, Professor Wally Jay held the ceremony officially handing the title of Grandmaster over to his son Professor Leon Jay in his hometown of Alameda, California. Family, friends, martial arts masters, and the media all witnessed this momentous occasion.

​Professor Wally Jay 
June 15th, 1917 – May 29th, 2011
Founder of Small Circle Jujitsu

Professor Wally Jay was born in Hawaii​ on June 15th, 1917, and started a lifetime of study and practice in martial arts at the age of 11. As he grew into adulthood, he studied boxing, weightlifting, judo and jujitsu from various instructors, including Professor Okazaki. In 1944, Professor Wally Jay was awarded the rank of black belt in Danzan Ryu Jujitsu from Professor Oakazaki in Hawaii.

Professor Jay felt that there was something missing with Jujitsu, the way he learned it. The knowledge he gained from the other disciplines and Okazaki’s own multi-disciplinary background gave him the perspective to see how classical jujitsu could be improved.

It was his two years of judo study under Hawaiin Judo champion Ken Kawachi that gave him the key to Small Circle; wrist action. Sensei Kawachi was a physically small man who stressed the use of the wrist action to gain superior leverage, and so effective was he in using the subtleties of the grip and its leverage that he routinely dominated other judoka literally twice his size and defeated many visiting wrestlers and other grapplers from the mainland.
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Professor Jay’s years of experience in classical jujitsu, judo, boxing, weightlifting, wrestling, aikido, kung fu, other martial arts training, and many periods of trial and error, led him to develop his theory known as Small Circle theory. His goal was to refine and improve upon the techniques by combining the best of everything he learned in different disciplines.

The Small Circle theory is not only applicable to jujitsu, but it blends in beautifully with other styles of martial arts. In fact, Professor Jay first applied the Small Circle theory to his judo teaching, which led to his creation of a winning team. In 1960 he was voted Northern California Judo Coach of the Year by Hokka Judo Yudanshakai, and throughout the 60’s and 70’s he produced national champions and team winners in Hawaii, Canada, USA, and Mexico.

This Small Circle Theory improved and developed further until 1987, when it officially became recognized as a complete jujitsu style on its own, now known as Small Circle Jujitsu™. Many had recognized the Small Circle system as being a separate style for many years, but after an article in Black Belt magazine, it became official.

Professor Jay’s Small Circle Jujitsu techniques were smooth and functional because of his mastery of what he came to call ‘transitional flow’ – one of the ten key principles of the system; this is where Prof. Wally’s in-depth study of body mechanics allows him to move smoothly and economically from one technique to the next to counterattack the moves of the attacker.

​Over the years Prof. Wally made radical changes in the jujitsu techniques he acquired, believing that this was what his teacher, Professor Okazaki would have wanted. In 1978 Professor Jay began to devote most of his time to teaching jujitsu self-defense across the United States and in many countries, promulgating Small Circle Jujitsu worldwide.

At 58, Professor Jay returned to a formal educational institution to study Psychology and obtained his bachelor’s degree at age 61. He was the recipient of multiple awards throughout USA, Canada, and Hawaii. He was named in “Who’s Who in Martial Arts” and named the City of Alameda’s “Man of the Year” in 1965. A classroom at Alameda High School was named after him.

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Small Circle Jujitsu was created by Professor Wally Jay drawing from various sources and elements and combining that knowledge with his insight into how all the pieces fit together. The art continues to evolve under the guidance of Professor Leon Jay, drawing from his extensive experience and insight as well as input from other renowned practitioners to create a truly effective and practical system.

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